It's Halloween, and students are allowed to dress up in costumes to celebrate the holiday. Many of the "dress code" rules do not apply for this day as students are allowed to wear hats, fake beards, slippers, and even rollerblades if they correspond with the costume. One of the girls costumes however is very revealing, and clearly violates the dress code of a normal school day.
Understanding the Situation
a. What might be some underlying causes of the situation that you need to think about?
Does that specific normal dress code rule apply on this day? b. Are there resources within your school that might be of help? If so who and what questions should you ask them?
Administrative help in terms of allowing student to call a parent/gaurdian to bring clothes.
Gym teacher to allow access to their gym locker to get gym clothes.
School nurse to try and "add" things to make the costume more acceptable
c. Are there other resources that might be helpful?
Access to alternate clothes (gym clothes, friends gym clothes, lost and found)
Have someone bring in extra clothes
Try to make costume more acceptable
A Solution
As a teacher, you will often try to address problems by preventing them. That said, things happen in classrooms that cannot be anticipated beforehand and you will have to make decisions about how to address the situation.
a. Decide whether your action is proactive (action aimed at preventing problem) or reactive (action occurs after situation develops).
Reactive b. Decide what grade level you will "solve" this problem for.
Middle/High school c. Describe what you'll do.
Address the student privately get administrative opinion regarding the costume and its appropriateness and then discuss some solutions, such as gym clothes, lost and found, having someone bring in clothes, or trying to change costume be make it more appropriate. d. Describe how you anticipate your action(s) will affect the situation.
The problem will either be resolved using one of the solutions discussed or the student might refuse to change and the situation could become violtile.
Solution Consequences
Before you act to address a classroom situation, you have to anticipate possible consequences of your actions. Spell out some of these effects here:
a. How will you action be perceived by your students?
Since you are addressing the student privately the student might precieve they are being "attacked" or picked on. Once the situation is resolved, (student's attire is acceptable) other students might take the dress code rules more seriously and might be more inclined to follow the "revised" rules as not to lose the privledge. b. How will your action affect the learning climate in your classroom?
Depending on the reaction of the student, if the situation is resolved without incident, the destraction will be removed and students will have an easier time focusing on school. c. What might your students learn from your action? (Be sure to note both positive and negative lessons.)
We can have fun and do different things and the rules might be changed or more flexible but their are still rules and consequences. Even though we are having fun I am still the teacher and will still enforce the rules. d. How will your students' parents react to their child's account of your action? (Remember that they will put their own "spin" on what you do.)
Depending on the story the student tells the parents might agree with my actions or challenge my methods for resolving the situation. In the later senario I will stick by my actions and cite the dress code rules that were in effect that day and previously known to the student. e. How will your administrator(s) react to your action?
Since I involved them from the begining in terms of asking their opinion of the costume before having the student change, I feel they will stand behind me and agree with the methods I used. ----
BOTTOM LINE: I SHOULD...
Involve administration in making the decision regarding costume appropriatness, address student privately in order to not embarrass them, offer multiple solutions to the problem to give the student a sense of power in the decision.
The Situation
It's Halloween, and students are allowed to dress up in costumes to celebrate the holiday. Many of the "dress code" rules do not apply for this day as students are allowed to wear hats, fake beards, slippers, and even rollerblades if they correspond with the costume. One of the girls costumes however is very revealing, and clearly violates the dress code of a normal school day.Understanding the Situation
a. What might be some underlying causes of the situation that you need to think about?
Does that specific normal dress code rule apply on this day?
b. Are there resources within your school that might be of help? If so who and what questions should you ask them?
Administrative help in terms of allowing student to call a parent/gaurdian to bring clothes.
Gym teacher to allow access to their gym locker to get gym clothes.
School nurse to try and "add" things to make the costume more acceptable
c. Are there other resources that might be helpful?
Access to alternate clothes (gym clothes, friends gym clothes, lost and found)
Have someone bring in extra clothes
Try to make costume more acceptable
A Solution
As a teacher, you will often try to address problems by preventing them. That said, things happen in classrooms that cannot be anticipated beforehand and you will have to make decisions about how to address the situation.a. Decide whether your action is proactive (action aimed at preventing problem) or reactive (action occurs after situation develops).
Reactive
b. Decide what grade level you will "solve" this problem for.
Middle/High school
c. Describe what you'll do.
Address the student privately get administrative opinion regarding the costume and its appropriateness and then discuss some solutions, such as gym clothes, lost and found, having someone bring in clothes, or trying to change costume be make it more appropriate.
d. Describe how you anticipate your action(s) will affect the situation.
The problem will either be resolved using one of the solutions discussed or the student might refuse to change and the situation could become violtile.
Solution Consequences
Before you act to address a classroom situation, you have to anticipate possible consequences of your actions. Spell out some of these effects here:a. How will you action be perceived by your students?
Since you are addressing the student privately the student might precieve they are being "attacked" or picked on. Once the situation is resolved, (student's attire is acceptable) other students might take the dress code rules more seriously and might be more inclined to follow the "revised" rules as not to lose the privledge.
b. How will your action affect the learning climate in your classroom?
Depending on the reaction of the student, if the situation is resolved without incident, the destraction will be removed and students will have an easier time focusing on school.
c. What might your students learn from your action? (Be sure to note both positive and negative lessons.)
We can have fun and do different things and the rules might be changed or more flexible but their are still rules and consequences. Even though we are having fun I am still the teacher and will still enforce the rules.
d. How will your students' parents react to their child's account of your action? (Remember that they will put their own "spin" on what you do.)
Depending on the story the student tells the parents might agree with my actions or challenge my methods for resolving the situation. In the later senario I will stick by my actions and cite the dress code rules that were in effect that day and previously known to the student.
e. How will your administrator(s) react to your action?
Since I involved them from the begining in terms of asking their opinion of the costume before having the student change, I feel they will stand behind me and agree with the methods I used.
----
BOTTOM LINE: I SHOULD...
Involve administration in making the decision regarding costume appropriatness, address student privately in order to not embarrass them, offer multiple solutions to the problem to give the student a sense of power in the decision.